Dorey’s NHL debut was a noteworthy one. On October 16, 1968 playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Pittsburgh Penguins he was to set, what was at the time, the NHL single-game record of 48 penalty minutes. His rugged, aggressive style was to cement him as a Leaf mainstay for the next four seasons. Coveted by the New York Rangers he was traded to New York for Pierre Jarry in 1971 because Leaf management suspected he might be about to jump to the fledgling WHA. Dorey played just one game with the Rangers before suffering a separated shoulder. This was to be his last NHL game as that summer he signed with the WHA’s New England Whalers. Dorey went on to be a WHA star for the entire seven seasons of the league’s existence.